The Fire Demon
by RozaCourt
Summary: There is a new VRMMORPG out that the gang wants to play: Gods' Apprentice. In the game, Kirito learns about the infamous "Hades," the only player in the game with completely maxed out game stats despite the game being launched only one day prior. What is her story, and what exactly about her makes our hero so interested in her?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, people of the SAO fandom! It is I, Rozaleena Cortez (RozaCourt for pen-name-short). Some of you may know my Maximum Ride/SAO crossover fanfic The Flock vs the SAO Survivors. After becoming comfortable with this universe, I have decided to put my skills to the test by creating a new SAO story. I hope you all enjoy it!**

**This is a world where Asuna had not been able to convince her mother to allow her to continue playing RPG and stay in the school with Kirito and the others.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own SAO. No matter how much I wished I did on my birthday and Christmas.**

_Unknown POV_; known POV (will be stated); '_known POV's thoughts_'; 'unknown POV's thoughts'; "dialogue for the known"; _"dialogue for the unknown_"

Chapter one

_I slashed at the boy in front of me again, grinning as he once again jumped back to narrowly miss my sharp blade. He is obviously attempting to keep me from lowering his HP to zero percent before he could find a way past my defenses (and offenses, apparently) and therefore win. But I have no intentions on losing my favorite Blade to a lame ass noob._

_I kicked him quickly, sending him flying across the battle arena. I quickly did hand signs _**(A)**_._

_"__Flames of Hell!" I yelled, slamming my right hand into the ground. After a moment, the arena was covered in jagged cracks that shot out flames at random intervals and locations._

_"__No, not this," the boy whispered as the other Hades representatives cheered at my ace Skill Power._

_"__Yes this. Come at me, if you dare." _

_The boy was visibly in an inner turmoil. After two minutes of waiting, I lost patience and unsheathed my second sword. I held both handles tightly in my hands, and he spoke as I lunged towards him._

_"__Alright, alright! I forfeit! Just take the Blade!" I stopped, my Blade and blade a mere millimeter away from his neck (Blade) and stomach (blade). I smirked as I pulled back and sheathed my swords. _

_"__Nice battling you, Zeus apprentice. I will now take your Blade of Zeus." I smirked further as he transferred the Blade to me. This smirk turned to a cruel laugh that echoed through the arena as all Hades apprentices laughed along with me. "That's seven Blades, you weaklings! Attempt to keep up, or I will rule over this game within the month!" With that, I left the arena with my posse._

~Suguha's POV~

"Kazuto, we have to log in and get to the cabin in three minutes! What is taking you so long?!" I slightly whined, standing over my cousin. The raven was taking his time with drinking his hot chocolate, and I wanted nothing more than to log in and get to the meeting with the others.

"What's so important about this get together anyway, Sugu? We can just be a little late," he sighed.

"Silica said she had an announcement to make. A very important one."

"Sugu…." I dropped down next to him and gave him my very best pleading eyes, knowing I had him the instant he looked me in the eye. He sighed again, this time in frustration and mock exhaustion. "Fine, let's go. I'll meet you at the Floor's gate." I nodded, stood up, and sprinted to my room. As I prepared to go into the game, I looked up at the poster of Leafa and smiled.

I closed my eyes slowly. "Link start!"

I closed my eyes and leaned against the closest tree to wait for Kazuto. It's been a few months since Asuna left the VRMMORPG world for good, and sometimes I wonder if my cousin even wants to play anymore. But he always logs in everyday and goes on quests just like we used to before she left. Even if sometimes I have to force him to log in if he's feeling particularly down about not being able to see his girlfriend anymore.

"Alright, let's go, Leafa." I opened my eyes and gave Kirito a smile as he walked closer to me **(B)**.

"Coming." We flew up and towards his cabin near the lake on this floor. It still surprises me he kept this cabin since he and Asuna had bought it together and had so many memories in there. But then again, I guess that _is_ why he kept it, even if he usually avoids entering when it isn't imperative that he does.

"There you two are! We were just about to begin without you!" Lisbeth declared as she pulled us into the living room. As we sat on the only free couch, Yui appeared on her father's shoulder.

"Hi, Daddy and Leafa," she greeted sweetly. I gave her a smile before turning my attention to the now standing Silica.

"Ok, I can now make my announcement! I have found a new game!" My eyes widened along with everyone else's. "And when I looked online for the reviews to see how it is, a lot of ALO players were saying it's even better than ALO." I nearly jumped to my feet at this. A game that is better than Alfeim Online? Impossible.

"What's this game?" Sinon asked her.

"It's called Gods' Apprentice. The object of the game is to beat all 25 levels. It first launched this morning, and more players have logged in to it than the first day SAO was launched." Now _that_ caught my attention. Sword Art Online the most successful launching than any other game I know of because so many people logged in to it. Of course, then Akihiko Kayaba ended up revealing SAO was basically a death game that is nearly impossible for anyone to beat completely. But that's beside the point. I started thinking.

"Hey, I think I've heard of that game before," I replied, tapping her finger on her chin as everyone looked at her. "I got it! The legend of _the_ God's Apprentice!"

"What's this legend?" Klein asked me.

"Well, there's a second objective for the game, though it's more of a bonus. There are thirty six Blades of the Gods. Each player receives one of the two Blades of their Master God when they first log in and can earn the second later on in the game. Of course, there are _other _swords, but those are the most important. There are thousands of each Blade, but a single player can only have one of each. So say like a Zeus's Apprentice already has a Blade of Zeus. He can't get a second one because it's against the rules.

"However, this is where things get interesting." I leaned forward, and everyone followed suit. "You can challenge someone for their Blade. If you win the duel, you take the Blade your opponent wagered. So eventually, you can have all thirty six Blades.

"_That_ is the legend of _the _God's Apprentice. If one player can manage to own all thirty six Blades at one time, he or she becomes The God's Apprentice and _instantly _wins the game. They then can rule over the entire game and receive real world prizes," I finished.

"But?" Kirito prodded, knowing there's more.

"But." I leaned back and sighed. "It's impossible. In order to be eligible to receive a particular Blade, you must have the correct game stats leveled up to the correct part. And to have all thirty six, you must have _all_ stats maxed out. It's impossible for one person to do so because it takes too much time, energy, and money." The others sighed in disappointment and leaned back.

We remained silent for a moment before Silica spoke up. "I say we play it!" She raised her hand excitedly. I smiled and nodded.

"I think so too. It could be fun." The others looked at each other, and one by one they all agreed.

"We should all log in tonight to get a kick start. We'll all meet up in the Beginner's Square at… say, 6 o'clock?" Kirito suggested. We all nodded and stood up.

"See ya soon!" we chorused and all logged off.

~Line Break~

"It says here converters have even less input on what our avatars look like," I told Kazuto as we walked into the game store. I was reading from a magazine and summarizing it to him. "When we log in, our Master God or Goddess is chosen based on our past skill sets and personal personalities. Then our avatars' appearances are determined by our ALO, GGO, and SAO avatars."

"So basically we will look like a cross between games we've played before," he stated, scanning the game aisles.

"Yep. Though mine will only be a cross between ALO and now GA because that's all I've played." I sighed sadly before moving on. "Oh, there is no Beginner's Square. Or at least, there is, but that's not what it's called. In GA, there is a Tri-Brother Cavern. It's a triangle shaped cavern based space that has the same things as any Beginner's Square. The name comes from the strongest of the three Gods: Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. A reviewer says to watch out for guilds from those three while in the Cavern because they like to gang up on others."

"Not worried." I rolled my eyes as he snorted. Of course he's not. He's one of the strongest VRMMORPG players in the virtual reality world.

"That's not the point, Kazuto. The point is we don't want to have any confrontations, so don't go out of your way to approach them. Ok?" He picked up two copies of the game.

"I don't approach anyone unless they're endangering other players."

"Exactly." I giggled as he led me to the checkout counter with a scowl on his face. "This will be awesome, Kazuto. Won't it?"

"Definitely."

**Ok, lame ending to a chapter, but I had to end it ****_somewhere_****. Let me know what you guys think.**

**A: I got the idea of hand signs from the Naruto fandom. It just makes sense for them to make some kind of sign when they're about to use some kind of skill. Plus the whole wand/chanting thing is ****_so_**** overrated. I wanted to try something new for a game.**

**B: When the characters are in reality, I am opting to use their real name, and when they're in the game I will use their avatars' name. This is to show when they are irl and when they are in the game.**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated.**

**-RozaCourt**


	2. Chapter 2

**Shout out to those of you who have favorited: **

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**And also those who followed: **

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**To LazyPotato, I'm so happy you like it so far. As you can see, I am now continuing.**

**To ****Thoroughly Misguided****, I'm glad it seems interesting to you. And now, I am updating. ^^**

**And now, on to the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own SAO.**

_Unknown POV_; known POV (will be stated); '_known POV's thoughts_'; 'unknown POV's thoughts'; "dialogue for the known"; _"dialogue for the unknown_"

Chapter two

_"Hades…. I- I mean…."_

_"Get on with it. I have better things to do right now than listen to you stammer your head off," I snapped, cutting off the trembling boy in front of me. And it's true: I'm busy watching this blacksmith make this crystal into my blade. And he _better_ get it right too, or he will have Hell to pay. Literally._

_"I have news pertaining to those players you heard about before." I grunted in response. "The entire group is made up of converters. Two of them have played Gun Gale Online, all of them have played Alfeim Online, and all but two of them are survivors of Sword Art Online." That last one caught my attention. The death game? We have survivors from the Death Game of the VRMMORPG world?_

_"Who are these players? The ones from the death game." I looked at him after giving the blacksmith a warning glare._

_"Well, there's Agil, Klein, Lisbeth, Silica, and… Kirito." _

_"_Kirito_?!" I broke out into a grin, and the guy backed away from me. "As in _the_ Kirito? The one that single-handedly beat Akihiko Kayaba and freed all SAO players? _That_ Kirito?!" He nodded slowly._

_"Your sword, ma'am." I took the sword and tested its strength._

_"Dragon's Hell Blade. It's about time I now have you in my possession." I took its sheath and attached it to my belt. "And with it, I will show everyone The Black Swordsman is not the greatest player in the game." _

~Kirito~

"I cannot believe I have long hair again," I complained as I touched my long black locks. Beside me, Leafa giggled as she studied my features.

"I like it. And be happy. At least this time you have masculine features rather than feminine." I sighed, remembering my GGO avatar. Almost everyone in the game had mistaken me for a girl. Even Sinon had until I actually told her I'm a boy right before the Bullet of Bullets had started.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I followed her through the Tri-Brother Cavern, looking around the space. The similarities to an actual cave can easily be seen: the space was dark except for strategically placed torches. Shadows hid many shops and players who didn't want to be seen by others. The area was deceptively small, but according to the map, it's a lot bigger than how it appears.

"So, I'm an Aphrodite Apprentice. My skills will primarily have to do with love and sexuality. Guess I'll act as more of a distraction to a boss?" I shrugged as she studied her Blade of Aphrodite. Like her Master Goddess, it was gorgeous and looks like it could blind an opponent if tilted in the light just right. "What are you, Kirito?"

"Zeus Apprentice. So my skills will be lightning based. I don't find a problem with that."

"Kirito-kun!" We turned around at the sound of my name. Silica and Lisbeth was running towards us. "Klein lost his Blade!" My eyes widened at this.

"_Already_?" The two girls nodded. "To who? And what made him think he should challenge someone the instant he enters the game?"

"We don't know who she is. All she said was she wanted his Blade. And yours. Kirito-kun, Klein doesn't have any swords at the moment. It's going to be really hard for him to play without a sword of some kind," Silica said with earnest.

"Where are they?"

"This way," Lisbeth answered Leafa, turning around. We ran after her as she led us to what appeared to be an arena. Once there, I could see Klein still on his knees in front of a girl who held the tip of her sword under his chin, smirking at him.

"You were very foolish to accept my challenge just because you are a converter and I am not, Klein-san. That mistake has been your downfall," she was saying softly.

"Klein!" The entire arena turned their attention to me as I jumped over the barrier and onto the field. "Are you alright?"

"Kirito, this has nothing to do with you," he started.

"I don't care. I challenge you to a duel. And if I win, you return his Blade," I told the girl, pulling out my Blade of Jupiter.

"Very well then, Black Swordsman. And if _I_ win, you have to give me your Blade." Klein reluctantly left the field as a timer started counting down.

I studied the girl in front of me as we waited for the buzzer. She was slender and appeared to be light on her feet, which meant she must be a speed type. Her sword had fire marks all over it, so maybe she's a Hades Apprentice. It makes sense since her hair was fire blue and eyes were fire red.

At the buzzer, I was knocked backwards by an unseen force. As I hit the wall behind me, I saw her do hand signs. "Flames of Hell!" She slammed her hand down on the ground, and my eyes widened as cracks were made on the field. As I looked around, I could see fire shoot up at random places and random times.

"What is this?" I asked her, standing up. She smirked.

"My ace skill." She swung her sword to the left just as flames shot up from the crack right next to her. The blade then lit up fire orange, and she smirked as it extended in length. "Now, Kirito-san. Show me exactly _who_ the Black Swordsman is."

I charged at her, sword to the side slightly. She smirked as she easily blocked my swing with her own Blade, making our swords clash in sparks in the shape of an X between us. Again and again, I swung at her. And again and again, she blocked with her own sword. The cheers from the stands slowly quieted as it became clear I was not going to win this as easily as everyone had anticipated.

"Would you like to hear a secret, Blacky-sensei?" she asked conversationally as she blocked once again. This time, however, she held me in place with her eyes that seemed to change colors. "That little rumor about the one player with maxed out game stats? You're looking right at her." My eyes widened as she kicked me away from her just as flames shot up out of the crack two feet behind me. I fought down a scream as my HP lowered to ten percent and I skidded straight across the field.

"You… what are you talking about? What rumor?" I grunted as I stood up slowly. I barely managed to block her sword with my own as she towered over me.

"How about this? I'll end this duel right now. And you can go run off to your pathetic friends and ask them about this rumor. Because Klein-san already knows, believe me."

Before I could respond, she kicked me once again only to the right. This time, my right arm and leg brushed against dying down flames, which lowered my HP to four percent. I watched her do hand signs once again.

"Flaming Sword!" She blew on the tip of the sword, and the entire blade instantly caught fire. I struggled to stand, but I couldn't. My HP was too low. She grinned as she towered over me with her sword over her head. "I win. By the way, the name is Kaia-Mai." I closed my eyes as the Blade swung down to me. The next thing I knew, I was engulfed in flames, my HP lowered to zero, my Blade of Jupiter floated out of my hand, and I disappeared.

**Reviews are greatly appreciated.**

**-RozaCourt**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Sugu

"If you use the code I just sent you, you should get the Gods' Apprentice version of Excaliber. That way it would be converted to your GA account," Yui was telling Kazuto as I walked into his room. He nodded and continued typing on his computer, focusing on getting himself a sword to play with.

"Kazuto," I muttered to sit next to him on his bed. He continued typing, not answering me. "You have to take a break, Kazuto. You've been working at this since we logged out yesterday."

"I'm trying to get…."

"Swords for you and Klein, I know. And before that, you were trying to find that rumor, which you haven't been successful with."

"So what's the problem if you know what I'm looking for?" I sighed.

"If you're going to stay awake, at least log into GA with me. The others want to meet up." He continued typing. "You could give Klein his new sword if you come." He sighed and stopped typing to cover his face in his hands. "Kazuto, you haven't been like this since Asuna left. I just got you back; don't go back to this over a girl who happened to be able to beat you." So easily, but I'm not going to add that part in.

"I know, Sugu. I know." He sighed again and looked back over at me. "Alright. Let's log in."

I smiled at him and walked to my room. After logging in, we walked together around the cavern, looking for the others in our guild. I ignored the stares and whispers directed towards us; when we saw them sitting in a restaurant, we went inside to sit with them.

"Hey, Klein. This is for you." Kirito transferred the sword to our friend, who grinned widely.

"Thanks, man." He sobered up as the others quieted down to listen to him. "Agil and I did some digging earlier. It took some time, but we know what that rumor is."

"What is it?" My cousin and I leaned forward.

"There's a player who's nicknamed Hades. She has wicked awesome skills that she uses in battles that she somehow managed to control to the point of bending to her will. Like that skill she used against you, Flames of Hell. Where the flames come up at is supposed to be random. But she is able to predict it and use that to her advantage.

"The rumor is that she has totally maxed out game stats. That she went through many different games in order to accomplish this so that she could convert with the maxed out status. Now, she is challenging different people, gaining their Blades and fast becoming the runner up to be the God's Apprentice."

"Why is she nicknamed Hades?" Yui asked.

"Didn't you see that skill set she had? Those are common to the Hades's apprentices. But she has _both _Hades Blades and just plain _looks_ like fire," Agil answered.

"What are we going to do?" Silica sked after a moment.

"There is nothing you _can_ do, sweetie pie," a voice said behind me. We all turned around.

"You have some nerve approaching us like this after what you did yesterday to Kirito and Klein," Lisbeth said, rising to her feet. Kaia-Mai smirked at her as she looked her up and down.

"Down, Athena's Apprentice. And show some respect: you're in the presence of a legend."

"I've been around Kirito for a while now, but what does that have to do with you?"

In an instant, her Dragon's Hell Blade was in her face. Kirito stood up to protest, but then the Blade of Jupiter was at _his_ neck. "Now, can you repeat that for me please?" Lisbeth remained silent as she stared at the blade in her face. "Hey, girly! I asked you to repeat yourself!"

"Excuse my rudeness. I apologize… Hades-sama," Lisbeth bit out.

The blue haired girl smirked as she re-sheathed her sword. Once he got over the shock of _his_ previous Blade being held at his neck, Kirito studied the girl in front of him. And I did as well to see what he saw. I can see six sword handles creating a fan right behind her head. She also had a sheath at each leg. Show off.

"Now you." She tilted the Blade slightly to gesture to my cousin. "I see you have found out about the rumors. Would you like for me to prove it to you?"

"That would be nice. Yes."

She went through her menu (with the Blade _still_ at his neck) and showed him her stats. His eyes nearly bulged out. "You're completely maxed out. So the rumor is true."

"Told you so." She then re-sheathed the Blade and smirked at us. "I'll take my leave then. Good luck. You're going to need it."

"Wait!" I protested as Kirito walked after her, but I chose to stay with the others instead of following. However, he never returned, and it's been twenty minutes now. I walked outside and looked around, and the two were talking.

"What's in it for me?" she was asking him.

"We're the strongest players in Gun Gale Online, Alfeim Online, and Sword Art Online. If you team up with us, you'll have a better chance at gaining all thirty-six Blades." I nearly gasped at this, but I covered my mouth. He was offering to help the girl who basically bullied other players? Who is he, and what has he done with the real Kirito?

"I don't do guilds." She jutted her hip out to the side and placed her hand on it. "I'd be expected to share what items I earn, and I don't like to share."

"We need you, Kaia-Mai." She paused in turning away from him as he spoke again. "You already know this game better than anyone else in this game. Besides, the strong must stick together. Right?" She looked at him again. I was struck with a realization as I watched them stare each other down. They almost seemed to be like Kirito and Asuna had been.

"Alright, I'll join your cute little group. But only on one condition."

"Name it."

"When we talk in private again, I don't want your little friend over there to listen in on us again. It's rude."

Their attention fell onto me, and I grinned sheepishly while walking over to them. "Welcome to the guild, Kaia-Mai. We'll be glad to have you."

"I'm sure you will be." Man, she's too arrogant! I hope Kirito knows what he's doing. Because the girl was not very well liked by the others in our guild. And she was being thrown into the midst them.


	4. Chapter 4

**Alright, people. I have some bad news. **

**As of today, I will not be updating any fanfics until mid-end of August or September. This is due to the fact that I would like to dedicate the time between now and then to writing out all of my stories and completing them before I update anything. So until then, look for me in forums, but do not look for any updates. **

**If you have any chapter/plot ideas, let me know. I'm all ears.**

**-RozaCourt**


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